Monday, January 21, 2008

Haha. I've had my ol' Kenmore for a good 10 years and really didn't think that I needed anything more than that. So I kinda shrugged him off when Jzboy said he wanted to give me a new machine for Christmas. Then we browsed a few Sew & Vac shops and a couple Janome/Babylock dealers. Didn't take me long to change my attitude. Jzboy did a lot of the research - because there are some serious techie points to consider. I fell in love with this Janome after getting a very good demo, a promise of lessons for the life of the machine and that was that. Those lessons are certainly going to come in handy as I have NO IDEA what to do with 14 feet!

Saturday, January 12, 2008

You all realize that I'm mowing through the baby name list that I've kept for...hmmm...I think 15 odd years. So this is what I decided today: Because there is very little, if nothing, that I can do about all the bad news floating around our IA cyber community - I'm gonna take the blues and make blueberries. Rationalizes all the time spent on this project as well as the zoning-out diversion that they've provided...reruns of The Office helped, too.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Sunday, January 06, 2008

It is our rainy season here in California & I couldn't be happier. Right now we've got this cool weather system going through dumping a boat-load of rain and treating us to some very rarely heard Thunder & Lightening! We've been very lucky & haven't lost power or experienced anything more than finding a few shingles on the ground. So far the storming has been great and here are some reasons why:

1. It's amusing to watch the cats respond to booming thunder by doing that skootchy walk low to the ground.

2. Drinking homemade lattes & finishing up the last of the Christmas cookies.

3. Time spent communing with the TV - Rainy Day Movies (we saw the Outsiders) & nail-biting football games (we were rooting for the Steelers).Better luck next year.

4. Good excuse to put off the yardwork one more weekend...combined with hopeful prayers that this rain will make up for my poor gardening ethic over the past few months.

6. Time to finally make my annual New Years Hoppin' John blackeyed peas. Btw, is it still lucky if you imbibe 4-5 days after the 1st?

7. Holiday Decor is Packed - yesssssss!!

8. We can keep a close eye on our sick cat, Cleo. (Anyone out there in cyberland have experience treating a pet for Diabetes?)

This picture was taken before Cleo got sick - now all Iris seems to want to do is bite her on the back & (maybe?) kill her? You know how cats sense when another is sick? Its weird and, yes, Cleo is safely quarantined.

9. Playing with new Christmas Gifts that got lost under the tree...like my 24-Pack of Ultra Fine Point Sharpies and Bend the Rules Sewing book!

I hadn't planned on giving her glasses, but was inspired to do so after signing up for an Etsy contest. The topic for the challenge is "Science" & Paige is a clever, smart little carrot that dreams of going to UCBerkeley to study Information & Library Science. You wouldn't believe all the cool stuff that has been submitted so far - there are some very interesting and talented folks on Etsy.

Anyway, it felt like a Project Runway-esque activity and anyone that knows me knows that I love a good, old fashioned contest/game. I'll definitely post when it is time to vote, so you can see all of the entries! Til' then, it is back to catching up around the house & around bloggersville...while we brace for the next round of storming.